“Well, deer won’t hurt us,” said Agnes, decidedly. “Let’s see where they went to.”
Neale was nothing loath. One direction was as good as another. He wanted much to talk to somebody about the discovery he had made in the loft of the Lodge; but he did not wish to frighten Agnes, so he did not broach the subject.
The two rows of hoof marks went on, side by side, along the edge of the clearing. They followed them to the very end of the opening which had been cleared about Red Deer Lodge—the northern end.
Here began a narrow path into the woods. The spoor of the two animals led into this path, and the boy and girl tramped along after them.
“I guess nothing frightened them,” said Neale, “for they appear to be trotting right along at an easy gait. They must have passed this way in the night. And that’s kind of funny, too.”
“What is funny?” asked Agnes.
“Why, deer—especially two, alone—ought to have been hiding in some clump of brush during the night. They don’t go wandering around much unless they are hungry. And there is plenty of brush fodder for them to eat along the edge of the swamps, that is sure.”
“Are you sure they are deer?” asked Agnes. “They couldn’t be anything else, could they?”
“I reckon not,” laughed Neale. “I say! who lives here?”
They caught a glimpse of an opening in the forest ahead. Then a cabin appeared, from the chimney of which a curl of blue smoke rose into the air. There were several smaller buildings in the clearing, too.